Eyes on the Street: Collision Leaves NYU Bus on Greenwich Village Sidewalk

A two-vehicle collision left an NYU bus on a Greenwich Village sidewalk this morning, in an NYPD precinct where speed enforcement, for all intents and purposes, is non-existent.

Tipster Philip Winn snapped these photos at Lafayette Street and E. 4th Street at around 9:30 a.m., after the second vehicle, a passenger car, had been towed away. FDNY got the call at 8:26, according to a spokesperson. The NYU bus was on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of the intersection, with windows shattered, according to another witness.

An employee with NYU buses told Winn both drivers were injured. One person was transported to Bellevue Hospital, FDNY said.

Chad Marlow, a member of Community Board 3, wrote to EV Grieve:

Motor vehicles operated on NYC surface streets should never collide with enough force to cause serious injury to vehicle occupants, much less require the jaws of life. Fortunately, this crash that ended with at least one vehicle on a sidewalk apparently did not result in a pedestrian being injured or killed.

A study conducted by doctors and researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center found that 6 percent of pedestrians injured by motorists were struck while on a sidewalk. No fewer than three NYC pedestrians have died at the hands of curb-jumping motorists in recent weeks, with many more known injured. Just days ago a motorist hit up to 10 people on a sidewalk in East Flatbush, leaving four in critical condition, including a 2-year-old child who was reported brain dead. Curb-jumping drivers have recently inflicted serious injuries upon seniors in Manhattan and Queens.

This crash occurred in the 9th Precinct, where officers issued 11 speeding tickets in all of 2012. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Deputy Inspector John G. Cappelmann, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 9th Precinct council meetings happen at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month at precinct, 321 E. 5th Street. Call 212-477-7805 for information.

This crash occurred on the border of City Council districts represented by Margaret Chin and Rosie Mendez. To urge Chin and Mendez to take action to improve street safety in their districts and citywide, contact them at 212-788-7259 and 212-788-7366, respectively, or @CM_MargaretChin and @RosieMendez.